Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters

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Once again, this story constantly switches between Sakura's point of view and Hinata's. It'll be apparent which point of view it is based on whose thoughts are running…

Before starting, I want to note that there is a difference between infatuation and love. Infatuation is blind to the faults of a person and often sees them as perfect, yet love is a whole hearted devotion to that person, but there is a strong awareness of their faults.

Chapter 10

It's All False

(o)(O) 12:54pm (O)(o)

The car pulled up to a house – no, it was a mansion to be precise – and Sasuke easily cut the engine.

Sakura noted that the lawn was freshly cut, bits of grass cleanly cleared into a pile in the corner – probably to be thrown away sometime later- and there was a large fence; it was the metal kind though, signifying, obviously, that the Uchiha's were rich. The house was painted in lovely light colors, the blends and tones seeming to fit in with the theme of warmth. She affirmed that it probably had something to do with a baby on the way; the house seemed to be the epitome of domestication.

From behind her, Hinata let out a sharp intake of breath – whether it was from the sheer size and beauty of the place or fear of her decision – and closed her eyes for a second before opening them slowly.

Sakura made to mention if the Hyuuga was ok, but Sasuke beat her to it, sliding by her side and placing a hand on her forehead as if to check her temperature. His eyes darkened – something that the analyst couldn't quite yet decipher expertly, but it was a cross between anger and desire – and he mumbled something against the raven-headed female's skin. Something along the lines of 'Stay here' or 'safe here' and Sakura noted that he was awfully close to Hinata.

Hinata made a motion to protest – obvious in her attempt to flail her hands and the evident tensing of her eyes – but Sasuke hurriedly slammed her hand against the door to stop her movements. His gaze was hard even as the female whimpered.

Sakura immediately reacted, "Hey!"

And the male visibly softened his hold – whether from her outburst or Hinata's frightened expression; she couldn't be sure – and rubbed soothing circles against the woman's pale fingers. If Sakura looked hard enough, she could see that the Hyuuga's hands were calloused, a brief description of the requirements of the life she had chosen to live in.

Then, Sasuke kissed her – once again, like it was just him and Hinata – before he turned, motioning to Sakura to get out of the car; a nonchalant shrug of his head.

Sakura opened the door and walked out on shaky feet and Sasuke followed from the passenger's.

"Stay here Hinata" he said, and to reinforce his words, he erupted into fluid hand motions. Briefly, Sakura realized that they were hand seals. He was doing a jutsu – ninjutsu or genjutsu, she wasn't sure – and it seemed so strange to watch, even from him as Sakura could honestly remember the last time she had watched a show on ninjas when she had been five. They had been in full black attire, covering from their heads to their toes with only their eyes visible. They used ninja stars and constantly yelled out faux pas exclamations and overly done hand flails to pull out an embarrassingly named attack, like "tiger dance, eagle's wing", which had made no sense, but had kept her interest because of the special effects.

To see him gracefully maneuver through some sort of seal, well, it created a new sort of respect for ninjas – hell, even more respect for the ANBU's, who consisted of quite a majority of ninjas.

The male breathed, looking satisfied at the lax expression of the Hyuuga inside and made to grab Sakura's arm.

She was caught off guard when he pulled her close.

"Wha- what are you doing?" was the only coherent statement she could get out, turning around to see if Hinata had reacted from inside the car, but that was a stupid thing to do because from their position in the front, Hinata wasn't quite visible. Also, there was also the fact that the windows were slightly tinted, so a proper expression could not be noted.

"Itachi's been bothering me to get a wife for a while" was his almost bored reply, but there was an edge of anger in it; almost as if pure rivalry could have been governing his actions. "And I'm not quite ready to bring Hinata inside." He turned back briefly, as if to assure himself, "There's no telling if the intel on her…status" he stretched the word with a hiss, "has reached him yet, and I don't want her to be reported"

Sakura frowned and she tried to pay no notice to the warmth of his skin or that masculine scent that just couldn't be described, or the way that his black hair seemed to frame his face beautifully. "Just introduce me as your teammate. We don't need to do this"

He seemed to contemplate it for a fraction of a second. Then he easily let her go and smirked as they reached the intercom for the mansion – the one that would most likely get them access to the mansion.

"Suit yourself" and he looked back to check on Hinata, as if trying to gauge the woman's reaction from that distance, then turned back to his task at hand.

He buzzed in.

There was a moment for Sakura to think, and she just stood slightly behind him; her basic functions continued: breathing, blinking, one foot in front of the other.

"Who is it?" it was a feminine voice on the other end of the device; a lovely lilt to it, but undermined by a tone that could have otherwise been taunting.

"It's me" Sasuke replied and there was another buzz before the gate – or fence, it didn't really matter – opened.

And Sakura continued to just stand there for a second, but Sasuke would have none of that.

"C'mon" he stated, neither neutral, nor demanding.

Then the analyst thought: Did he just try to make Hinata jealous?

Her face scrunched up.

What a fucking child.

She stormed in after him, and was sobered enough to tell that small part of her mind, the one that pined after him – yes, she could admit that, though reluctantly – that he really wasn't as great as her fantasy had imagined. But, her hand clenched just the slightest bit, and she wanted to turn back and break that stupid seal on the car.

(o)(O) 1:02pm (O)(o)

Hinata sat for a while, well she tried to, but ended up rubbing the part of her wrist that Sasuke had held a little too tightly – and see, that was the thing.

He always held onto things too tightly – and now, she was sure she wasn't referring to herself as a thing – and that was something that frightened her. He held on like he wouldn't – or couldn't - let go, as if everything he had gained would slip through his fingers.

It wasn't wrong – she supposed – because she was well informed and aware of his history with her and Hanabi…

She sometimes felt like it was smoldering, as if he would consume her if she didn't fight back, but then, that was a stupid train of thought; she chastised herself.

When she lingered too long on him, her thoughts would slip to Naruto and she would remember how lovely his eyes were – a deep blue that reminded her of rolling waves – and then she'd remember that terrible feeling in her gut, a part between longing and a deep, endless sea of remorse and regret.

He had always been so bright, so vibrant – and maybe it was because of his too blonde hair or his too bright eyes or his too tanned skinned that made him seem like an angel – and being in his presence had made her want to be a better person. He had made her feel like she could achieve anything and…

She looked out the window – tinted from the outside of course – hoping to stop the train of depressing thoughts.

It wasn't quite a pleasant distraction; the sun was out. It was a lovely day and she just felt tired – in the physical sense – because she hadn't slept enough.

And it came back as a sting; the previous day's events.

Orochimaru had been in a good mood; he had humored her, asking her to sleep off whatever had been bothering her, most specifically, her nerves. Then, when she had gone to discuss with him whatever his plans were, he had just as easily passed off the idea of Sasuke's older brother, "Isn't he just perfect Hinata? I could last forever with such a strong container" and he had let out an insidious laugh, startling her to her core; her actual response was a soft smile, and she had asked with as much determination that could be mustered – though her insides were crawling with spiders:

"What about Anko's body?"

Orochimaru had blinked as if he had forgotten the body he had been occupying and smiled, that feminine smile with lovely violet hair that cascaded to frame his – her – face beautifully. He had pinched his left breast in thought, tongue slithering out as he let out a startling laugh again; a good mood he had been in, "Decent fighter she was. Low chakra though. Made up for it with battle tactics, but you see my love…" and he had suddenly been massaging her shoulders, "There's better options out there"

Hinata let out a soft breath, trying to remind herself that it wasn't Orochimaru and that she was safe for now – though it was not a true fact and she knew it, choosing not to acknowledge it just yet.

(o)(O) 1:10pm (O)(o)

"More tea?" Temari was a lovely woman, Sakura deducted upon Sasuke's quick introduction of the blonde, consisting of him waving his hand at her and curtly saying, 'Itachi's wife, Temari.' Sakura had bowed, because the woman had demanded respect in the way she held herself up and she introduced herself as the analyst, Sakura.

"Yes please" Sakura replied in the affirmative, because the woman's smile was so large and genuine that it made anything she had to offer seem precious – and utterly wrong to deny.

"Of course" Sasuke replied to the question posed, and he was watching Temari carefully, but not in the way that suggested he expected her to suddenly attack them, but with a sort of familial affection that was years too old.

"I'll go get it" the blonde stood slowly, and Sasuke was immediately at her side.

Curtly, he said, "Sit down, you're pregnant. I'll get the tea"

At his words, Sakura couldn't stop herself from staring avidly at the large mound that was Temari's stomach – it was very visible in the maternity clothes the woman was wearing and the way her skin just glowed – before she looked back towards her face, which was frowning; ever the companionable hostess.

"Are you sure Sasuke? I'm pregnant, not dying" and her mouth curved into a smirk so similar to his, that Sakura could immediately see why the woman was a part of the family.

The male just gently ushered her back onto the couch – it was a red color that reminded Sakura of Gaara's hair, or maybe it was the evident fact that Temari was Gaara's sister because of the portrait of her, Gaara and another man smiling with the background of sand to draw them out.

"And I have arms, don't I?" was the male's wry reply.

Temari laughed, and it wasn't soft and high like tinkling bells, but it wasn't a baritone and derisive; it was just lovely.

When Sasuke disappeared around the corner into one of the many kitchens the mansion had – it was three in total and made Sakura wonder what they would do with so many – Sakura returned to sipping what was left of her tea.

The trip had been fast and scary and dark, but in this house, right in this moment, basking in the company of this very pregnant woman, it felt safe – strangely.

"My husband makes me relax more than this home" said female remarked offhandedly and Sakura almost jumped as Temari continued, "I always told him it was too big, but he insisted that we get it, you know, in case the family comes to visit." The blonde smiled, "I noticed that your shoulders loosened a bit as you sat down. You're probably pissed off with Sasuke; he can be a pain in the ass."

Sakura blinked before stating a little too quickly, "No, he's – ah, it's nothing like that."

"Nonsense, he's a bastard" and she snorted and took a sip of her own tea – she had sweetened it with honey; a lot of honey – and continued with a reminiscent smile that made her look downright gorgeous, "Itachi was like that too. Still is, but knows how to make it sound more polite instead of curt" then she waved her hand in the air as if to dispel the nostalgic atmosphere, "Enough about me. I can tell by your face that you have something important to tell me, you and Sasuke"

Sakura nodded, half surprised, "Yes"

The older female caught the look and grinned – it was doing wonders for her youthful appearance, "I was an analyst too. You need sharp eyes. Didn't stay in it for long though. Gaara, my brother, which I'm sure you can tell" she gestured to the photograph Sakura had looked at fleetingly, "he… well, he got injured a lot in battles. You can tell why. Anyway, I got tired of waiting for him to come back injured so I could bandage his wounds, so I took some academy training – the best ones in Konoha of course – and before you know it, I was fighting at his side and then I met Itachi through that." She had a nostalgic air around her again.

Sakura smiled politely in response, "That's great"

"Not at first; he was an ass, I said." The blonde laughed, and Sasuke chose that minute to enter.

"Tea with lots of honey for the lady" he stated, and that sort of affectionate smile was on his face again when he placed it in front of Temari.

She said her thanks and Sasuke, just as carefully placed tea in front of Sakura; that warm look was still lingering on his face from moments before.

It could have made Sakura squeal; it was just rare to see.

Then he sat, and as they all took their first sips, Sasuke stated, "Itachi's in danger" and he didn't ease the phrase in. It was analytical and to the point.

The blonde seemed to ponder on that phrase as if it was a question for a second, "And who told you that?" she stared at Sasuke through those crystal blue eyes which could at once seem soft or harden at statements she didn't quite like to hear. At the moment, Sakura noted, Temari's face was a clean slate.

"ANBU classified" he stated, and Sakura could have added something, but she just took another sip of her tea; it was starting to cool down anyway.

"That's bullshit; I'm a part of the ANBU, even though I'm technically retired, but if my husband's in trouble, I would know"

Sasuke returned the cool look.

The pregnant woman rubbed her stomach, as if to draw strength from her baby – but still, her look betrayed nothing, "Well, in the bleak way you put it, I would think that the intel you received is not quite legal. In fact, it's rather quick, you know, the way you received it, instead of Itachi and – oh honey, don't glare, it's not becoming" Temari easily chastised Sasuke, Sakura noted, then returned to her tea, "Maybe, perhaps, the intel is a she and is on the run. Hinata?"

Sasuke growled and dropped the tea non-too-gently, hissing, "She's mine and they're not going to touch her"

Sakura felt a pang in her stomach – whether she was embarrassed by his behavior or jealous, she didn't want to linger on it – and wondered whether she should interrupt on his behalf, but the older woman noticed this and waved her hand delicately, "Calm down Sasuke, I understand" and she lost that soft look. "So, you want us to leave for a while, get Itachi under protection?"

Sasuke looked unable to talk, so Sakura asked, "Might I just ask, where is your husband at the moment?"

Temari hummed in thought, "On the way home most likely" and blue orbs seemed to flash momentarily in worry before returning to that calm look she had donned, "I don't worry too much. He's amazingly skilled and it's not like this is the first time someone's been after him…and who is this person exactly anyway?"

Sakura answered again, confidently, "Orochimaru"

And Sasuke looked somewhere between mildly angry and interested.

Temari looked disbelieving once again, "The analyst? He disappeared a long time ago and was presumed dead. The case was closed, but…ah, I see" She looked towards Sakura with a meaningful look, one that Sakura felt was a warning to not snoop through files – The Attraction Effect lingered in her mind – but it was gone when she looked towards Sasuke. "I'll call him"

They exchanged curt nods, Temari's slightly shakier than any others and she left the room in a grace that dignified her pregnancy.

Sasuke stood also at the blonde's exit and the analyst started, "Um. Where are you going?"

"To check on Hinata" he grounded out; there was a suspicious lilt in his tone, "This looks almost too easy." He started to walk out as well, "Stay here, Sakura", then he added, "Temari can hold her own in battle, though she's pregnant"

But it sounded a lot more to her like, 'There's trouble ahead' or something like, 'We've got company.'

Sorry for any errors. I'm honestly overwhelmed with homework, but more so with joy for those who reviewed on the last chapter and even throughout the story so far. Thank you, your reviews honestly make me inspired to continue.

All your thoughts are welcomed and reviews encourage faster updates (and I say that every chapter, I'm sure).